The 47-year-old Missouri native and his partner, Angelina Jolie, 36, donated $500,000 Friday to the Community Foundation of the Ozarks. Their contribution supports midterm and long-term rebuilding efforts in the Joplin, Mo., area, which was recently destroyed by a series of tornados.

"With the devastating loss of 30 percent of the city, the Joplin community faces great challenges ahead," Pitt told local news station KSPR. "Having spent much of my childhood there, I know these people to be hardworking, humble and especially resilient.

"The locally based Community Foundation of the Ozarks will be working shoulder to shoulder with these Joplin residents for the long haul as they rebuild their lives," he added. "We, too, hope to further help with these rebuilding efforts."

Said Jolie, "Our hearts go out to the families in Joplin who have lost so much."